Coffee
by zombiewithwings
Summary: He had never seen anybody cry over coffee before. If he had, he would have laughed at them. It's just coffee. What's the big deal? But, he isn't laughing and it wasn't just anybody. It was her. It was Beth. And, she used to love coffee and she had missed it so bad. And, now she had some. And, this was a big deal.


**AN: Hey folks! So, I'm still working on my next chapter for 'Greene With Envy' if y'all are following it or even reading it at all. If you are, no worries, it'll be up soon. :) While I was working on it I decided I needed a coffee break and then this popped into my head. and I just HAD to write it. I hope y'all enjoy it. Now, back to working on the next chapter of my multichapter story. Love you, peeps. *fist bump* **

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Daryl stood in the doorway to the large kitchen watching every move she made. He leaned against the door frame, crossing one foot over the other and crossing his arms in front of his chest. His eyes remained on her. He refused to take his eyes off of her for even a second. Partly because she was so damn beautiful. But, also because he was afraid if he looked away she would be gone again.

He never had been a religious man. But, walking out of that hell hole of a hospital with her beside him, holding her hand, he thanked whatever God, if there was one, for saving her. He didn't know who was holding whose hand tighter, her or him. But, it didn't matter. He held her hand out of that hospital and didn't let go the entire trip to this place. Even as they slept.

Now, here they were, in a gated community with houses, the kind that Daryl never imagined he would step in, let alone live in. They had lights and hot water and everything the world had before the dead started terrorizing everybody. Their group had already settled into their houses after the first night of them all staying together. But, not Daryl or Beth.

No, not them. They had been here for over a week and tonight would be the first night that they slept in their house. _Their _house.

After the first night, Beth confided in him that all of this made her feel uncomfortable. It was like this place hadn't been touched by the apocalypse and that made her uneasy. And, after being trapped in that suck-ass hospital for so long she felt trapped behind the walls. The walls of the house and the community.

_Yeah, me too._

They slept on the front porch. Each taking turns on watch even though they were told when they first arrived that it wasn't something needed to worry about unless they were assigned gaurd duty. They didn't care. It didn't matter what anybody said. The people behind these walls, most of them, didn't know what the rest of the world was like.

Yeah, they had 20 foot walls all around them. They had houses with doors that actually locked. They were surrounded by almost 100 people. It didn't matter. Not to them. Not to Daryl and Beth.

From the second they stepped out of Grady they were right back into doing things like they did when it was just the two of them. Each taking watch. Watching each others back. Tracking and hunting together. Building a camp when they had to stop for the night. Looking out for each other and protecting each other. They worked together perfectly. The entire group noticed how in sync they were and they wondered what happened when it was just the two of them after the prison. Only one person asked about their time together, Glenn. But, they didn't say anything. Nobody asked again and even if they did, they would never tell. What happened after the prison was just between them. It was just for Daryl and Beth.

"I think we should try," she said suddenly from where she was sitting beside him on the porch, her head resting on his shoulder.

Daryl turned his head only slightly just to glance down at her. She tilted her head up and smiled. Her real smile. The _Beth Greene_ smile.

"Hmmm," was his only reply, which he knew didn't surprise her. If it had been anybody else she would think they were just brushing her off. If he were talking to somebody else, he _would _brush them off. But, they weren't talking to just anybody. This was Daryl. And, this was Beth. And, they knew each other. they got each other. They _understood _each other. She knew him better than that. Heck, she probably knew him better than anybody else in the group did. Even Rick or Carol. She knew that he was thinking over in his head what he actually wanted to say to her. Daryl was a quiet man and didn't talk much. But, he talked to her but sometimes he just needed to think before he did.

"Wha' makes you say that? Thought this place made you uncomfortable?"

She lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned to completely face him. He already knew what she was going to say. He knew what she was thinking. He could read Beth Greene like an open fucking book. Just like she could read him. She didn't have to put into words what she wanted to say but she was Beth and Beth liked to talk. Maybe not like she used to, at least not to the rest of the group. But, she still talked to Daryl. But, who could blame the girl for being somewhat cold towards the others when they all pretty much wrote her off as dead? At least they did until they actually saw her and she had proven them wrong. She wasn't just another dead girl. She was strong. She could survive.

With a shrug, smile still on her beautiful face, she said, "It does. But, it doesn't hurt to try. Besides, if we try and we don't like it, we can always leave."

_We_. She said 'we'. She said it so confideantly and without doubt because she knew if she wanted to leave, Daryl wouldn't hesitate to go with her. Wherever Beth Greene went, so did he. If she told him right this second that she wanted to go back on the other side of the walls and live in the woods, he would go. No questions asked. No doubts. He would just pack them up some food and clothes, grab their weapons and they would be gone. The others be damned. And, the fact that she knew without doubt that he would follow her wherever, made him feel proud. Because, he would. He would follow Beth Green through the pits of Hell and back if she even so much as hinted at that's what she wanted to do.

He looked at her intently from beneath his hair that was hanging in his eyes. Who the fuck was this girl? She went from a 16 year old girl who tried to kill herself to being the only beacon of light that Daryl had in this world. She became a member of his family, his partner, his best damn friend. And, even after all of the shit she has been through, here she was still hopeful as ever, still willing to try. Her bright blue eyes shining brighter than the full moon that was out that night and her smile that could outshine the fucking sun. It never failed to amaze him just how strong Beth Greene was. And, damnit, she was. She was the strongest woman he knew. Hell, she might even be stronger than most men. It took true strength to have hope in this shit stained world they were all living in now.

But, maybe it wasn't so shitty after all. Even with walkers around and people more evil than the dead that were seeking human flesh to devour, he had her. And, as long as he had her, he knew that things were worth fighting for. Living was worth it. Surviving was worth it. _She_ was worth it.

And, she always would be. As long as Beth was here, he'd keep fighting. He'd keep trying. For her. _Only_ _her_.

Clearing his throat and nodding his head, he quickly agreed. "Ok," his rough voice broke the silence. "We'll try."

That's how the next morning, once the sun was up, he was leaning in the doorway of the spotlessly clean kitchen, watching her. Her face full of amazement as she took in her surrounding. She spun in a slow circle taking everything in, as he stood there taking _her_ in.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she suddenly stopped. She turned her head towards him and damn. His breath was gone. She had just taken it right out of his lungs. Beth always had a beautiful smile. But the one she was giving him at the moment was easily the most beautiful smile of hers he has ever seen.

"Wha?" he asked.

Beth just shook her head and moved closer to the counter.

"Daryl, look," she said, her voice full of awe.

She picked up a can and he smirked at what she held up. She often spoke of how much she missed coffee. They had found boxes before of the instant coffee but she always insisted that it just wasn't the same.

His smirk grew as she quickly opened the cabinets and found coffee mugs and filters for the coffee pot. She filled the pot with water and put about 6 scoops of the ground coffee beans and hit instant brew. He was starting to wonder if the girl even needed caffeine with the way she was damn near jumping in the spot she stood from excitement as she waited for the coffee to be done.

"Hmm," she hummed to herself, a slight frown now on her face. She looked at him for a moment before turning to the refrigerator. She hesitated, just for a moment before opening the door.

There it is. That smile back on her face where it should always be. He watched as she reached in pulling out a bottle with some type of cream in it. She turned towards him again, also turning the bottle around for him to see. There was a piece of tape and in black marker it had the word, 'Hazelnut'.

"Oh my goodness! They have creamer, Daryl. Creamer!" she sang as she held the bottle to her chest and spun around. It was like watching a scene from 'The Sound of Music'.

The coffee was done brewing and she went to work pouring some in a mug. She added some creamer and found a spoon to stir it with. Beth had the cup clasped in both hands and she closed her eyes as she brought it to her nose to take a sip.

He had never seen anybody cry over coffee before. If he had, he would have laughed at them. It's just coffee. What's the big deal? But, he isn't laughing and it wasn't just anybody. It was her. It was Beth. And, she used to love coffee and she had missed it so bad. And, now she had some. So, this was a big deal. He couldn't stop his smirk from turning into a full smile because seeing this girl, _his girl_, crying about coffee was the most adorable thing he has ever seen.

"Well?" he asked, breaking the silence in the room and causing her to open her eyes.

Damn. It always amazed him how her eyes were always so much bluer when she cried. The prettiest blue eyes on the most beautiful fucking woman in the world.

"Well what?" she asked, confused.

"How's it taste?" he returned her question while signaling for her to take a sip.

Beth raised the cup slowly to her lips and just before she took her first sip, she smirked at him from behind the mug.

Daryl watched as her eyes closed once again as she savored the first drink of coffee, good coffee, that she has had since probably back at the farm.

She looked at him and he felt his heart clench in his chest. The things this damn woman did to him.

"It tastes like heaven," her reply came out in almost a half sigh and half moan. She let out a laugh and there came those tears again.

Usually, there was nothing in this world that Daryl hated more than seeing Beth cry. Except at this very moment. Seeing her cry and knowing it was because she was so happy, made him happy. Hell, it even made him almost want to cry. It was just coffee but if coffee made her this happy, he would do whatever it took to make sure this place never ran out. He would make sure she had it everyday for the rest of her life.

Daryl finally pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. He stood in front of her looking down into her eyes as she looked back up into his. He didn't know why, he didn't know how, but this magical woman in front of him, who he has come to care so much about, chose him. Even though he didn't know the answers to the why or how, he wasn't going to question it. He was going to be grateful for it and he was going to enjoy it. There wasn't much, if anything at all, to enjoy in this world. There wasn't before the rise of the walking dead or during. But, he had her. He had his girl. And, that was enough for him. That is all he would ever want or need.

Beth took another sip of the hot beverage. She then sat the mug on the counter beside them and wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms automatically going around her waist. As she smiled up at him, his lips twitched into another smirk.

"Yeah," she whispered, "I definitely think we should give this place a try."

His chest vibrated as he chuckled. "If that's what you wan' baby" he smiled down at her.

She raised slightly on her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, both smiling into it. He could taste the coffee on her mouth and pulled away but not moving his arms from around her.

"Mmm. Just like Heaven.," he whispered.

Daryl watched as her smile grew bigger because he knew that she knew he wasn't talking about the coffee. He was talking about her.

Always her.


End file.
